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Still room
A still room (or stillroom or cafeterie) is a room for preparing household compounds, found in most great houses, castles or large establishments throughout Europe, dating back at least to medieval times. Stillrooms were used to make products as varied as candles, furniture polish, and soap; distillery was only one of the tasks carried out there.
The still room was a working room, part chemistry lab, part compounding pharmacy, part perfumery, part beverage factory, and part kitchen. Professional manufacturers such as dispensing chemists and apothecaries gradually took over many still-room tasks, producing the products of the still-room commercially. With the commercialization of preserved food the use of stillrooms for food preservation also declined .
Originally, the still room was a very important part of the household. The lady of the house was in charge of the room, and she taught her daughters and wards[failed verification][better source needed] some of the skills needed to run their own homes in order to make them more marriageable. As practical skills fell out of fashion for high-born women, the still room became the province of poor dependent relations.
Households relied on medieval food preservation, much of which was done in the stillroom, to provide varied food through the winter.
Medieval households also made many perfumes, such as rosewater, and powders made from orris root, lavender, and calamus; they also dried and used meadowsweet, germander, hyssop, rosemary, thyme, violet, and woodruff.
The literate hand-wrote their own collections of stillroom recipes, often mixed with other practical household knowledge. These receipt-books were often amended from experience, and were valued, and bequeathed in wills. While these books were very individual compilations, the recipes from these books largely remain similar during the medieval period; the contents changed little over the centuries. These collections were often collaborative, multi-authored collections of useful practical knowledge, a "family book" like a family Bible.
A still room in a Renaissance great house would be equipped with distillation equipment, and a waist-high brazier or chafing dish. There might well be an adjoining stove room, with a small stove and slatted shelves for drying.
Spirits, wines, syrups, and waters were distilled. Other products included pickled vegetables and fruit, laundry recipes, remedies, and perfumes, and home-brewed beer or wine was often made. Herbs and flowers from the kitchen garden and surrounding countryside were preserved for flavoring food and processed tinctures, distillates, and syrups.[better source needed] Other products included ointments, soaps, furniture polishes, and a wide variety of medicines.[better source needed]
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Still room AI simulator
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Still room
A still room (or stillroom or cafeterie) is a room for preparing household compounds, found in most great houses, castles or large establishments throughout Europe, dating back at least to medieval times. Stillrooms were used to make products as varied as candles, furniture polish, and soap; distillery was only one of the tasks carried out there.
The still room was a working room, part chemistry lab, part compounding pharmacy, part perfumery, part beverage factory, and part kitchen. Professional manufacturers such as dispensing chemists and apothecaries gradually took over many still-room tasks, producing the products of the still-room commercially. With the commercialization of preserved food the use of stillrooms for food preservation also declined .
Originally, the still room was a very important part of the household. The lady of the house was in charge of the room, and she taught her daughters and wards[failed verification][better source needed] some of the skills needed to run their own homes in order to make them more marriageable. As practical skills fell out of fashion for high-born women, the still room became the province of poor dependent relations.
Households relied on medieval food preservation, much of which was done in the stillroom, to provide varied food through the winter.
Medieval households also made many perfumes, such as rosewater, and powders made from orris root, lavender, and calamus; they also dried and used meadowsweet, germander, hyssop, rosemary, thyme, violet, and woodruff.
The literate hand-wrote their own collections of stillroom recipes, often mixed with other practical household knowledge. These receipt-books were often amended from experience, and were valued, and bequeathed in wills. While these books were very individual compilations, the recipes from these books largely remain similar during the medieval period; the contents changed little over the centuries. These collections were often collaborative, multi-authored collections of useful practical knowledge, a "family book" like a family Bible.
A still room in a Renaissance great house would be equipped with distillation equipment, and a waist-high brazier or chafing dish. There might well be an adjoining stove room, with a small stove and slatted shelves for drying.
Spirits, wines, syrups, and waters were distilled. Other products included pickled vegetables and fruit, laundry recipes, remedies, and perfumes, and home-brewed beer or wine was often made. Herbs and flowers from the kitchen garden and surrounding countryside were preserved for flavoring food and processed tinctures, distillates, and syrups.[better source needed] Other products included ointments, soaps, furniture polishes, and a wide variety of medicines.[better source needed]